The Curse Of The Alpha’s Mate

Today is the day my life changes forever. I take in the sight of my twin sister. Five years. I haven’t seen her, or heard news of her in five years. And yet here she was, standing by the doorway of my dorm room, with her usual blank expression. We were identical only by facial features and height. For everything else, we were polar opposites. Despite that, looking at her used to feel like looking in the mirror. But not anymore... a lot can change in five years. A lot has changed in five years. “Why are you here?” I ask. My voice is colder than I want it to be. But better to feign disdain than to show fear, right? Fauna regards me in silence for a minute. Her droopy eyes betray no emotion. They had always been that way ever since we were young; cold, icy, dead. Her hair is chopped into a shaggy, boyish cut, with the ends dyed black and the roots still their original auburn shade. At a glance, you’d mistake her for a feminine boy. She had the built, the toned muscle, the sharp jaw, and the almost completely flat chest. Her years of training and binding had finally paid off. She takes a step further into my room and closes the door soundlessly behind her. Involuntarily, I take a step back and almost bump into my dresser. I feel like a cornered dog; like a fugitive who had finally been nabbed, with no way of escape. I hate the feeling. After all these years, what do they want now? How did they find me? I feel stupid for not moving farther away. I should’ve applied to a college on the other side of the world. I should’ve moved to a whole different continent, or maybe changed my name and identity. But now it is too late. “Father wants you to return to Lost Angels. He wants you to come home.” She finally answers; crossing her arms and putting what I had been dreading into words. Even her voice has become rougher. With much effort, I keep myself standing. My heart is racing; slamming against my ribcage, and for a second I fear that Fauna can catch the sound with her enhanced hearing. I do not want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how scared I am. Why now? Why in my final year, when freedom is inches away from my grasp? I swallow and cross my arms too; mirroring her body language. “What does he want? Besides, I don’t have a home. I’m no longer a Lysidas, remember?” I say bitterly. Even after almost six years, the anger and hurt of what they had done to me still hasn’t dissipated. And now... now they have the audacity to come back and talk about the ‘home’ they denied me years ago? No. I won’t stand for it. Fauna raises a bushy eyebrow and gives a quick, disgusted snort. The corners of her lips tug up into a sadistic smile. “That’s not your choice to make. Father decides if you’re a Lysidas or not.” She remarks; staring me down. “You don’t have a say in this, sister.” “Neither do you. You’re just his dog.” I say, and the very next second, I regret my choice of words. In a flash, Fauna slams me against the wall. The framed photo of me and my volleyball team crashes to the floor, the glass shattering. I feel a sharp pain shoot up my back, all the way to the base of my neck. The wind is knocked out of me, and before I can even take a deep breath and absorb the pain, her hand tightens around my throat; choking my windpipe. I struggle to claw off her hand, but her strength and mine are unmatched. All I can do is kick and try to push her off, although it really has no effect. “You’re weak, Fiona.” She seethes; her face inches away. “You’re weak, and a disgrace to our family. You don’t even deserve to be a dog.” My vision begins to swim, and just when I am sure I’ll pass out and die from asphyxiation, she lets me go and I slump to the floor, wheezing and coughing to catch my breath. I feel the tears pool and brim in my eyes, and horrifyingly, I realize that I am about to cry. They are angry tears, but they are tears nevertheless. I keep my head down, so my hair can shield my eyes. “Father is giving you a second chance to redeem yourself. He’s forming an alliance with the Sons of Fenris, and part of the bargain is your hand in marriage to Dmitri Amoux.” Oh, so things can get worse. I feel nauseated, like the walls of my room are caving in, threatening to crush me. Once again, I am reminded that to my father, I am nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard in his stupid game of power. More than that, fear struck my heart at the mention of his name; the alpha of the Sons of Fenris. Just the stories of his ruthlessness sent a chill down people’s spine throughout the werewolf elite society, and the handful of humans who knew of werewolf existence. “So he’s going to sell me off...” I whisper to myself bitterly. Fauna laughs mockingly. “If you want to put it in such crude words; yes.” She picks up a potted plant from my window sill, and turns it around in her hands; examining it. For a second I think she is going to smash it on my head, but she sets it down without a sound. “Tomorrow at midnight, I’ll be here to escort you back to Vermont.” She says, sauntering to the door. “Don’t even think about running.” And then she is out the door and gone. I stay on the floor, slumped against the wall for what feels like an eternity. The tears come, and I angrily wipe them away, until both my cheeks and my palms are damp with salty tears. I refuse to be auctioned off like furniture. I’ll run away. The door bursts open. “Dude, you’ll never believe who the actual f**k just texted me this...” Natalia trails off; taking in my position and the tears staining my cheeks. She rushes to my side, kicking the door close with a slam. “What the f**k? Fio, are you okay? What’s wrong, what happened, dude? Why are you crying?” I sniff. “I’m not crying.” I lie. My voice is all nasal and messed up. I am pretty sure my nose and eyes are redder than a tomato too. It is one hundred percent obvious that I am lying. “Yes, and Genghis Khan is my sugar daddy.” She plops down next to me and drops the half-eaten box of sushi, along with her tote bag that spills make-up items, a water bottle, and empty bubblegum wraps. “Cut the s**t and tell me why the f**k my best friend is on the floor crying.” She rummages through her bag for her phone. “Was it Justin? I’ll f*****g kill him. I told you not to date a guy whose name starts with the letter J.” She goes on; aggressively tapping the cracked screen of her old iPhone. I sigh. I stop her before she does something stupid. “Tali...” “Shut up. Nothing you say will save his life. I’ll roast his ass and cut off his–” “My sister came here.” Natalia’s shoulders slump, and her words falters. She is the only person outside the Lysidas pack who knows about my past, and how badly I want to run away from it. And she also understands that a visit from my sister means that my past has eventually caught up to me. She releases a deep breath; staring at me sympathetically. “Are you okay?” I shake my head ‘no’. I don’t even have the strength to tell her the rest of the horrible news. “We’ll find a way, Fio. I promise. You’re gonna be fine, okay?” She places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a reassuring squeeze, holding a small smile in place. “They want to sell me off to Dmitri Amoux.” Both her hand and her smile falls. Natalia’s eyes widen and she looks at me in pure shock and disbelief, waiting to hear that I am joking or something. “What?” I clear my throat, avoid her eyes, and explain. “My father is making an alliance with the Sons of Fenris. He’s trading me off in an arranged marriage with Dmitri, in exchange for more power.” It feels atrocious to be powerless... to be weak and pathetic... to not have control of your own future. “Fuck.” She whispers under her breath, and then falls back against the wall hopelessly. “f**k, f**k, fuck... Fiona you have to leave.” Of course I have to leave. But for a moment, I am allowed to be hopeless right? I sigh and rest against the wall too, our heads anchoring together. “They’ll find me. It doesn’t matter where I go. They’ll always, always find me.” Natalia shoots up straight. “Come to my pack.” My eyebrows knit together. “What?” “Come to my pack. We can find someone who’ll pretend to be your mate. They’ll have to respect the rules, right? They can’t marry off someone who already has a mate.” She explains brilliantly, forgetting one tinny tiny problem that ruins the whole idea. “You’re forgetting that I’m human, Tali. I can’t have a mate. They’ll know it’s a lie.” Plus I presume the reason why I am the perfect candidate to be auctioned off to Dmitri is because I’m human. They will not be breaking any mate rules. And even if I am a werewolf, I can’t accept Natalia’s idea. At the very least, I can’t put her and her pack through such trouble. I shake my head. She groans and slumps back on the wall. “Oh fuck...”